Page 64 of Keeping Score

He looked down at her, and then back at me and let out a measured, controlled breath.

“Maggie, I get that you want to talk, but I’m telling you if we have this conversation now, it’s not going to work out the way you want it to.”

“Why can’t you just forgive me?” I asked.

“Why can’t you give a shit about what I want for once?”

“Bad word, Daddy.” Lily frowned, looking impossibly like Liam as she did.

“Shit.” He repeated, then winced. “Shoot. Sorry. Shoot.”

He kissed the top of Lily’s head and handed her off to Cassie.

“You guys go wait in the car, I’ll be right there.”

“Take your time, we can wait,” Cassie urged, hopefully. I loved her for that.

“No,” he shook his head. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

He kissed her cheek, sending her off with such gentleness so he could turn his attention back toward annihilating me.

As soon as his family left, Liam’s face turned to stone once more, the only emotion radiating through him being the rage lurking in his eyes.

“Liam, man,” Brody said on my behalf, “you gotta give her a chance.”

“No, I don’t have to.” Liam retorted coldly. “Why do I have to give her a chance when she thinks she can create messes in my life and fix them all by a half-assed apology?”

“I’m right here,” I said, furious when I felt my own eyes starting to water.

“Why would I talk to you when it’s clear you don’t listen to a damn thing I have to say?”

“Why are you so mad? I made a mistake, but no harm was done. You don’t have to see him again if you don’t want to.”

“I didn’t want to see him ever, but you forced me into a situation I didn’t want to be in. Do you know how shitty that is to do to someone, Maggie?”

“I know,” I gritted out.

And I did. But this couldn’t be the mistake that ruined us. I couldn’t lose him because of what I was trying to gain—because I was trying to fix our family.

“It was stupid,” I admitted. “I get that now. I understand that things can’t be what I wanted them to be.”

“No, that’s the problem, Maggie.” Liam countered. “You don’t get that. You think you can have a hand in every situation, but that’s not how life works. You can’t expect everyone to do what you want all of the time.”

“Liam—”

“You’re selfish, Maggie,” Liam said. “You always have been. You’ve always only cared about what you want.”

“Watch it, Liam.” Brody’s voice spat out harsher than I’d ever heard it.

But even though he was holding me up, I felt myself shrinking from Liam’s words.

Was he right? I hadn’t been trying to be selfish. I just… thought I knew what would be good for him.

“You keep dumping shit into my life that I didn’t ask for, and until you learn to stop, then I can’t have a relationship with you.”

“What? Shit like Cassie?”

“Don’t talk about Cassie.”